Differences
by GrayWing
Summary: Kagura stops by for a visit with Kyou and company, except, she's acting a little odd. Kyou's thoughts on the change.


**Note: It's the first time I've tackled a fanfic in years, so please don't be to rough, besides, my usual beta readers have gone poof. So, if it's a little sloppy I appologize in advance.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Fruits Basket, not at all. Don't even wish I did, it belongs to it's original creator, NOT. ME. - get the point yet? Thankie.**

_**Differences:**_

The orange haired youth was content to lounge in the sun on the back walkway, the door open behind him, inside Yuki, Tohru, and Shigure had busied themselves with various tasks. Yuki was doing some work concerning the student council, Tohru was busy preparing dinner, and Shigure looked like he was actually working. All in all, it was shaping up to be a nice relaxing day. He rolled over onto his back, staring up, he closed his eyes and propped his head on his hands.

His ears perked up when there was a knock from the front door. He rolled his head to the side, curiosity getting the best of him. Tohru answered the door and he heard a second female voice. It wasn't kisa, nor any of her friends… so that meant it was… _her._

He jumped up from his perch, looking left, right… back, right, back, the forest behind him. If he ran fast enough he could get away, he glanced at the door, Kagura walked in and looked at him. She smiled and waved, he froze in place, something wasn't right about that, where was that sense of Impending Doom? Why wasn't she clobbering him? Did he do something? He watched frozen as she walked over to him, she stopped a few feet away.

"Hello, Kyou-kun, how are you?" Her smile was there, but there was something decidedly missing in those gray eyes. Something was, off, with her today. She was way to contained to be the Kagura he knew, and somehow, that was more terrifying then the rampages. Wait, something more frightening then that insane rampage of destruction, that force of nature that wouldn't be stopped for anything… not that he ever actually TRIED to stop her. He just yelled at her, insulted her, told her to leave him alone, but he never tried to stop her.

"Hn… what are you doing here?" There was that same old gruff tone he always took, that abrasive manner that kept everyone at arms reach. Well, everyone except Kagura and Tohru.

"I just stopped by to visit for a few minutes, I won't be long today." Why in the world was she looking down like that? Why was that smile she had on so… fragile looking? What was _wrong_ with her?

"Hmn..." He took his gaze off of her and looked to the others, they were all watching them rather intently, varying degrees of shock reflected on their faces. He gritted his teeth and turned around. "Okay then." With that less then stunning closure to the conversation, he proceeded to walk out the door and around the corner, clamoring up to the rooftop to perch and think.

_What's going on with her? Stupid boar, why the change? Did I say something? Hm… don't remember anything but the normal, so why's she so… calm? Where's my rampage? Where are my death threats for not being nice? Is she finally backing off? Geez. That's just not right. She's supposed to be energetic, not so depressed looking. And coming to see Tohru? What's up with that, yea they're friends, but she doesn't march all the way over here to see _her, _she only does that to come see me, except she's so… mellow today. Something's not right here, something is very, very not right here. I bet she's trying some little scheme to make me realize how much I care about her, not like that'd work._

Time passed, the sun moved through the sky, shadows grew, the world darkened slightly, and the orange haired teen stayed perched on the roof, thinking very hard about why a certain brunette would all of the sudden be just as calm towards him as she was towards everyone else.

_It's official… I've come to a conclusion, stop smirking you Rat, I know you're doing it wherever you are. I really, really don't like this new Kagura. She's still the same girl on the outside, but she definitely looked, sad when she was talking to me. Hm, I'm not going to discover anything perched up here though, besides I'll be safe enough the way she's acting today. Maybe I'll go down and talk to her, maybe I can even get her back to _normal

Battle plan arranged, thoughts organized, and with no real idea of how to accomplish his objectives, he set out to do something he hadn't done in a very, very long time. Initiate a conversation with his stalker, with the purpose of turning her from the normal female she'd become, _back_ into his stalker, because, she was after all, supposed to be _his_ headache. As it was… this new creepy thing was going to drift off and ignore him, and that was a most… uncomfortable thought. One of the two people who actually recognized and accepted him, and she might just turn away and ignore him? Hardly an acceptable situation, no, he had to figure out what was wrong, for his sanity if anything else, because as of now, he was officially curious, and curiosity is the bane of every feline, be they cursed that way or born that way.

He dropped to the ground lightly and turned his attention to the house, let the hunt begin. He pulled the door open and stepped inside. Short hunt, Kagura was seated at the table across from Yuki, Shigure and Tohru no where to be seen. That rat again. He glared at Yuki and then looked at Kagura.

"Outside." He jerked his hand behind him, meeting her perplexed gray eyes. She tilted her head and stood up, brushing her dress off carefully.

"Okay..." She walked passed him and outside, Yuki watched the exchange, a faint trace of a smirk tugging at the side of his mouth. Not a friendly smirk either, but the 'you're going to get it now' type of smirk. One that promised a living nightmare for some reason or another. Kyou brushed it off and turned around, following Kagura out, he closed the door.

"What did you want to talk about?" She had her back to him, hands clasped in front of her, staring at the ground.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Kagura?" She half turned, her head tilted to the side, her hair slipped forward, brushing down the side of her cheek, following the soft curve around. He blinked away and focused back on her eyes, the confusion there was rather… interesting.

"What do you mean? I'm me Kyou-kun…" He shook his head at that, looking rather annoyed, he ran his hand through his hair, planting the other on his hip, wondering how to explain this.

"No you're not, you're some creepy imitation Kagura. Kagura's a lot more energetic then you are, a lot more violent. I don't know who you are, but you're not a very good copy." He watched as a smile spread slowly over her face, but still, it didn't quite touch her eyes, they were still so… empty.

"Are you trying to say something? Did I do something to upset you? Because I'm very much me." He watched her intently at this, that sad smile on her face, he didn't like this new Kagura at all, no, she made him feel things he wasn't really sure what were.

"I'm just trying to say… Che. I'm saying I don't like this new you. I… I…" He stumbled over the words, trying to think of how to say it, trying to think of how to say it without embarrassing himself. How do you tactfully admit that you rather… enjoyed having someone think enough of you that they'd come over arbitrarily just to see you, even if they brought chaos and pain with them in a hand basket, or a cat shaped bag as the case may be.

Kagura persisted with her calm look, that sad smile, he was getting very, very tired of that smile. Where was the spark? "Kyou-kun, you don't like me? Not at all?" She blinked a few times, he noticed the slight glint at the corner of her eyes, the way her smile shook just slightly at the edges.

"I'm sayin', I don't like this new you. You've changed, and it's just down right creepy. Go back to the old you, at least then you were normal." Well… she was at least Kagura normal. After all, she was legendary for her rages, her smashing things, her violent declarations of love, not for sitting there quietly and barely talking to him. Not that they hadn't spoken in normal tones before, it was just that they always exploded at each other, anything else just didn't seem natural.

"Oh… so, then… you LIKED it?"

"I don't know about that…"

"Then you hated it?"

"I didn't say that…"

"Then what?"

"I was just… used to it, okay? This isn't you, why don't you act like yourself again and get mad? We've been talking for a while and I've been standing up the whole time you crazy boar." She turned around, folding her arms and tapping her chin.

"I don't know if I want to do that anymore. After all, you've made it abundantly clear that you hate me, so, why should I bother anymore?"

_Geh… now what? I don't HATE you…_

"I don't hate you, Kagura…" She half turned, looking at him. "Mind, doesn't mean I like you, but I wouldn't complain if you started acting like yourself again."

"… You don't hate me?" He shook his head and watched as just a faint spark of that old fire rekindled in the back of those gray eyes, which now that he thought about it, were rather pretty, in a unique sort of way. Her smile widened and she jumped towards him, he reflexively braced for Excruciating Pain, with a sense that all was well again.

He stayed tensed for several seconds, eyes clamped shut tight, ready for whatever blow she was going to shower him with this time. He opened his eyes and looked at her, she stood just a few inches away from him, staring up with a big smile on her face. She bounced up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek before turning around and walking away.

"Thank you, Kyou-kun, I need to hear that."

"What the? Stupid, what was that for!"

"Because, I love you… So… MUCH!"

"KAGURA! AGH!"

It was some time later when he recovered, a massive lump on his head and few minor bruises on his arms and back. But all in all, that felt so much better. Besides, Kagura in her infinite insanity had promptly tended to the more serious injuries, with the comforting and cajoling to go with it. Much preferable to the other Kagura, that sad little creature that had come to visit today. This one was his Kagura, his own, female Haru, his counter to Yuki's headache, except his was much easier to get along with, just drop limp early and she calmed right down, unlike Black Haru where you couldn't really figure out when he would settle again.

"So… why were you so upset today anyway?" He glanced over at Kagura, she was busy stitching up a tear in his shirt that she'd put there, her little apology for the way she acted.

"Upset? Oh… nothing, I wasn't upset at all, just distracted."

"Hm… distracted? What could be so distracting?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me… so, it's a secret." She placed one finger over her lips, giving him that cute, serious look again. He winced, where had he heard that before… oh right, at the market. What was it with her and not telling him? Gah!

"You've got to have a better reason then that. You can be such a pain sometimes." And of course, he was soon to regret those words, because after all, he'd gotten what he wanted, he got his Kagura back, that sweet little creature that would be so nice to everyone else, and put him through living hell day in and day out whenever he upset her.


End file.
